Ok, for those that live in the cold...

[Ramblin Fever]

I have a test going as we speak.

Just today, I dumped the 10w-30 Maxlife and put in 5w-30 Maxlife for winter - truck is SOOO quiet on this Maxlife, I wished I'd tried it sooner.

Anyways, I could swear the last few cold days that the truck had been starting easier with the 10w-30 Maxlife then it had last winter with the Havoline 5-30.

So, out of curiousity, obviously it's not a set-in-stone answer, but I took a few ounces of each oil, put them in a deep-freezer in baggies, and tomorrow morning, I will see which one pours out easier.

I have always used Havoline in EVERYTHING! Still love that oil, but it makes this Rodeo sing out of tune - seemingly just in the last 2yrs, almost as if Havoline is using something different. As two trucks both grew noisier with it.

So, anyways, just curious. But, one thing's for sure, my days of oil-experimenting in the Rodeo are over - it's Maxlife for life

Oh, and Rodeo02, I've come to the conclusion, the new '04 Rig will have a diet of GC and Napa Gold filters - as long as the GC doesn't prove too thick.

[Ramblin Fever]

Well, they've been in deep freeze = -20F for over 7hrs now. You'll be happy to note that neither one has turned into a solid block, but they each look like thick globs.

For the record, the Havoline 5w-30 is the regular oil; Maxlife 10w-30 is labeled as a synthetic-blend according to the folks at BITOG.

[surferfletch]

I picked up 3 NAPA Gold filters for the Jeep yesterday. I haven't thought about using them on the Rodeo. It looks like the most substantial filter I've seen yet. More than $6 a pop, though. NAPA's silver line is only $2 and change.

As far as oil weight, I've always used Valvoline 10W-30. Only recently did I look in the manual and see it calls for 5W-30. I don't know why I'm not using 5W-30. I can't remember if I ever used 5W-30. The only ticking I get is when the oil is a little low or the change interval creeps a little above 3K.

It'll cost about $21 for the oil and filter to do the changes with the Wix filter and Valvoline. I wonder if I could do just as well with a cheaper filter (Purolator) and cheaper oil (Coastal from Advance). How much is the Maxlife? I pay about $10 for the 5 qt. jug of Valvoline at the Mart.

I just did the Jeep change yesterday and oil is on my mind...

[rodeo02]

Originally Posted by surferfletch

I picked up 3 NAPA Gold filters for the Jeep yesterday. I haven't thought about using them on the Rodeo. It looks like the most substantial filter I've seen yet. More than $6 a pop, though...

Fletch, for napa golds, you cant beat fleetfilter.com. I ordered 8 filters (3 different vehicles) and it came out to just over $3/filter with shipping. Napa golds at my local napas are $7/ea at a minimum. I found FF through BITOG.

G/luck
Joel

[surferfletch]

I just jumped over to BITOG, but the forums are down for backup right now.

Thanks for the online supplier info. That'll save some $$. Wish I knew that about 24 hours ago! I only have 1 Purolator for the Rodeo left, so I'm going to order a few for the Rodeo now.

ADD: 6 for the TJ and 6 for the Rodeo came out to $4.06/filter. Not bad for a good filter. Glad I clicked on the link even though I'm in FL!

[Ramblin Fever]

Fletch - with living in Florida, keep using your 10w-30, in fact I would use it year round without issue.

When I lived in Vegas, NV, my Rodeo got a combination of 10w-30/10w-40 year round without a problem.

The ONLY reason I use 5w-30 in Colorado is during the winter, i.e. which can range from -15F to 40F tops; when April rolls around 10w-30 goes back in so the truck doesn't break it down as fast, as the 5w-30's will shear to a lower grade faster then a 10w-30.

In my manual, it calls for 10w-30 preferably; says to only use 5w-30 if cold weather starting below 0F is an issue.

I only starting using the 5w-30 because we moved into the mountains, even colder then when I actually lived in town, in Colorado, for my 1st 2 winters back here, I still used 10w-30 without issue.

I pay roughly $13/5 qt jug of the Maxlife at Walmart, I have never used regular Valvoline, so I have nothing to compare to.

Try the Napa Gold on the Rodeo next time, see how you like it. I'm paying right at $6/filter as well, but it's the only filter other then OEM that doesn't cause my rodeo to sing.

[rodeo02]

Originally Posted by surferfletch

.. 6 for the TJ and 6 for the Rodeo came out to $4.06/filter. Not bad for a good filter. Glad I clicked on the link even though I'm in FL!

Fletch, I'm a knucklehead. I just checked my records. Those 8 napa golds from FF ran me more like ~$4.60/ea (shipping and all). Still better than $7 locally I guess. Must have been dreaming about that $3 figure.

Joel

[surferfletch]

I wasn't calling you out! I'm super grateful for the link. And I'm happy to be saving nearly $3 a filter. I'm going to consider changing from the Mann ($55.60 + shipping for a case of 10) filter for the Jetta, too. I have 4 or 5 left, though.

[rodeo02]

Fletch, how do those mann filters look/feel for the jetta? Mann, baldwin and hastings are near impossible to find anymore. It is nice how heavy duty the napa gold/wix for the isuzu 3.2/3.5's is. It's slightly bigger in diameter and maybe a bit longer.

Joel

[surferfletch]

They are solid. Good anti-drainback valve. Wider and thicker gasket than the Purolator and FRAM cheapies I used beforehand.

The 2.0L gas engine in the Jetta behaves very much like the Rodeo. If it gets past the change interval or the level gets down a bit, the top end will start ticking. Should flip 180K next week and it's still pulling strong. I don't think the filter makes a difference in the engine noise, but I haven't let the oil get low or burnt since it's become my DD (started as the wife's before I got it with 80K). It sees about 350 miles a week. I change the oil every 6-8 weeks. This engine will do 250K easily.

[rodeo02]

Originally Posted by surferfletch

..The 2.0L gas engine in the Jetta behaves very much like the Rodeo. If it gets past the change interval or the level gets down a bit, the top end will start ticking. Should flip 180K next week and it's still pulling strong....

Those engines do amaze me. My SIL had a 1999 Jetta GL, 5spd with the 2.0L a few years ago. She drove the khrap out of it (matter of fact, traded it for the 2003 rodeo she had). That 2.0L used oil at an alarming rate. On a few occasions I checked it to find I had to add 3qts!! Still ran like a top. She traded it in 2003 with just under 100Kmi on it.

Joel

[surferfletch]

The early MKIV Jettas (1999.5-2000) had some serious oil consumption problems. It was determined that some piston rings on some of the 2.0L AEG engines were installed upside down. If your engine consumed a qt. in 1000 miles, VW reringed your engine. I feel sorry for anyone that gets one used and doesn't know about it. By the time the oil warning light comes on, it's too late! My Jetta is a MKIII (1993-99) and loses less than a qt. in 3K.

They are very simple 4 cylinder, 8 valve engines which only give you 115 hp, but around town, it's kind of fun. The only change I've made is a lightened flywheel when I did the clutch. And I can and have done most everything on it - timing belt, water pump, gaskets, struts, radiator, window regulators, brakes, ball joints and tie rod ends, control arms, wheel bearings, heater core (UGH!), etc. I was going to sell it at 200K, but every month that goes by without a payment is priceless.

Sorry for the jack, Ramblin'!

[Ramblin Fever]

Nothing to be sorry about - not in the slightest. Kind of intriguing actually, to read about other owners and their cars and besides, keeps me entertained. Keep the conversation going - by all means.

Definitely liked your "but every month that goes by without a payment is priceless" comment! That's 100% true - aside from owning that Xterra for a very short time, I hadn't had a car-payment in 3yrs til we got this new Tacoma.

But we surely tried to keep the "car-payment free" idea going as long as possible - just got tired of not knowing whether or not we were going to make it to work or whether it was going to have to be towed. In all respects, that old toyota was just that, OLD - but we had a good, I'd say 12yrs of easy-going life with it. It was it's last 3-4yrs that were starting to hurt cost wise.

But, during that time, it was still cheaper to keep then a carpayment. This last go-around though, was gonna require a new rebuild, timing chain, waterpump, roughly another $3-4k dollars for a 2nd time in 6yrs - we had already thrown $3k into it since February this year.

[Gizmo42]

I've been 10 yrs without a car payment now Bought my mitsu p/u in '91 (first and only brand new vehicle for me) and when I sold it last year I had saved enough to buy my rodeo cash. I hate owing anyone money so didnt want any payments. Its cost a bit since I bought this one to get it into the shape it should be but once its all done I should have a long time of cheap driving.

[Ramblin Fever]

10yrs without a carpayment?? - That's excellent!

We probably could've been if we weren't into camping/boating - where we needed a full-size with very low mileage; and if we didn't have to work WITH our vehicles, only just drive them to work, we could've set ourselves up finance free.

Makes it hard when you have to have a vehicle just to run from site to site over 5-6 times a day during a typical work-day, thus we HAVE to have at least 2 good running vehicles at all times.

That way, if one's down, we have the other - which I believe is part of the reason why I may have lost my last job. My old '85 Toy was becoming so unreliable and stalling out during the work-days, had to be towed at least 6-7 times this past year, thank goodness a co-worker had an open-bed trailer.

Good news is, got a new job with a cabinet company, doing warranty repairs and a new Toyota - yes, I owe payments, but it's long covered under warranty and now I have 2 very reliable daily commuters again. And don't have to wonder whether or not I can get to the job/construction sites.